Starfinder Unchained – Skills Athletics

As I said before, one of the first places we can look to convert Starfinder into a 3 action and degree of success system are skills that exist in both systems. Athletics will change mostly because they reworked the way that Combat Maneuvers work.

I am not finished with the Grapple comparison, but this looks effectively unchanged. Some minor quibbles.

Athletics (Str)
Athletics allows you to perform deeds of physical prowess. When you use the Escape basic action, you can use your Athletics modifier instead of your unarmed attack modifier. [New, but not unreasonable]

Athletics Untrained Actions

Climb

MoveRequirements You have both hands free.
You move up, down, or across an incline. Unless it’s particularly easy, you must attempt an Athletics check. The GM determines the DC based on the nature of the incline and environmental circumstances. You’re flat-footed unless you have a climb Speed.Critical Success You move up, across, or safely down the incline for 5 feet plus 5 feet per 20 feet of your land Speed (a total of 10 feet for most PCs).[New, but not unreasonable]Success You move up, across, or safely down the incline for 5 feet per 20 feet of your land Speed (a total of 5 feet for most PCs, minimum 5 feet if your Speed is below 20 feet). [New, used to be half your land speed (15 ft, 30ft for 2 moves) in Starfinder, but not unreasonable considering you can take 3 climb actions per turn which could be 15 ft with 3 successes and 30 ft with 3 crit successes. I think the biggest problem here is that Starfinder has prosthetic legs that boost your land movement which shouldn’t affect your climb speed.]
Failure (PF2e has no entry, but should probably be that you make no progress?)Critical Failure You fall. If you began the climb on stable ground, you fall and land prone. [Essentially the same as Starfinder if you failed your climb check by 5 or more you fell]

Force Open

AttackUsing your body, a lever, or some other tool, you attempt to forcefully open a door, window, container or heavy gate. With a high enough result, you can even smash through walls. Without a crowbar, prying something open takes a –2 item penalty to the Athletics check to Force Open.[New, but not unreasonable, in Starfinder breaking down doors was either a weapon attack or Strength check.]Critical Success You open the door, window, container, or gate and can avoid damaging it in the process.Success You break the door, window, container, or gate open, and the door, window, container, or gate gains the broken condition. If it’s especially sturdy, the GM might have it take damage but not be broken.Critical Failure Your attempt jams the door, window, container, or gate shut, imposing a –2 circumstance penalty on future attempts to Force it Open.

Grapple

AttackRequirements You have at least one free hand. Your target cannot be more than one size larger than you.
You attempt to grab an opponent with your free hand. Attempt an Athletics check against their Fortitude DC. You can also Grapple to keep your hold on a creature you already grabbed.

Critical Success Your opponent is restrained until the end of your next turn unless you move or your opponent Escapes (page 470).Success Your opponent is grabbed until the end of your next turn unless you move or your opponent Escapes.Failure You fail to grab your opponent. If you already had the opponent grabbed or restrained using a Grapple, those conditions on that creature end.Critical Failure If you already had the opponent grabbed or restrained, it breaks free. Your target can either grab you, as if it succeeded at using the Grapple action against you, or force you to fall and land prone.

High Jump

You Stride, then make a vertical Leap and attempt a DC 30 Athletics check to increase the height of your jump. If you didn’t Stride at least 10 feet, you automatically fail your check. This DC might be increased or decreased due to the situation, as determined by the GM.[This is more difficult than Starfinder where the vertical leap DC is 4x the intended height, in Pathfinder 2e you can get 3 ft for free without making a check. So Goblins trying to jump over the Azlanti desks in Against the Aeon Throne might have been able to do something heroic. In Starfinder the 5ft vertical would be a DC 20 and the 8 ft vertical a DC32.]

Long Jump

You Stride, then make a horizontal Leap and attempt an Athletics check to increase the length of your jump. The DC of the Athletics check is equal to the total distance in feet you’re attempting to move during your Leap (so you’d need to succeed at a DC 20 check to Leap 20 feet). You can’t Leap farther than your Speed. [This is exactly the same as the Starfinder long jump except in Pathfinder 2e you can get 10 to 15 ft for free without a check.]

If you didn’t Stride at least 10 feet, or if you attempt to jump in a different direction than your Stride, you automatically fail your check. This DC might be increased or decreased due to the situation, as determined by the GM.

Success Increase the maximum horizontal distance you Leap to the desired distance.Failure You Leap normally.Critical Failure You Leap normally, but then fall and land prone.

[Both Jumps modify the Leap action which doesn’t require a check and is dependent on your base land speed. So all of the High Jump math changes from Starfinder, but its not a change I think people will be aggravated with. ]

Shove

AttackRequirements You have at least one hand free. The target can’t be more than one size larger than you.
You push an opponent away from you. Attempt an Athletics check against your opponent’s Fortitude DC. [replaces Bull Rush, technically the Starfinder was 5ft and an extra 5ft for every 5 by which you exceeded the DC with no limit. Effectively it’s the same. Shove would become the new mechanic for a part of the Solarian’s Stellar Rush.]

Critical Success You push your opponent up to 10 feet away from you. You can Stride after it, but you must move the same distance and in the same direction.Success You push your opponent back 5 feet. You can Stride after it, but you must move the same distance and in the same direction.Critical Failure You lose your balance, fall, and land prone.

Swim

MoveYou propel yourself through water. In most calm water, you succeed at the action without needing to attempt a check. If you must breathe air and you’re submerged in water, you must hold your breath each round. If you fail to hold your breath, you begin to drown. If the water you are swimming in is turbulent or otherwise dangerous, you might have to attempt an Athletics check to Swim.

If you end your turn in water and haven’t succeeded at a Swim action that turn, you sink 10 feet or get moved by the current, as determined by the GM. However, if your last action on your turn was to enter the water, you don’t sink or move with the current that turn.

Critical Success You move through the water 10 feet, plus 5 feet per 20 feet of your land Speed (a total of 15 feet for most PCs).Success You move through the water 5 feet, plus 5 feet per 20 feet of your land Speed (a total of 10 feet for most PCs).Critical Failure You make no progress, and if you’re holding your breath, you lose 1 round of air.

[They’ve aligned the Swim action with the Climb action in that it’s based off the land speed, again I am concerned about body modifications that modify land speed in Starfinder. Total speed for spending 3 actions swimming is 30ft for normal successes and 45ft with 3 critical successes. In Starfinder 2 move actions spent swimming would get you only 30 ft. So unlike climbing your average swim speed stayed the same, your max swim speed went up, whereas average climb speed went down in a world with ubiquitous jetpacks]

Sample Swim Tasks

Trip

AttackRequirements You have at least one hand free. Your target can’t be more than one size larger than you.
You try to knock an opponent to the ground. Attempt an Athletics check against the target’s Reflex DC. [Starfinder has different effects on Airborne targets and those in Zero Gravity.]

Critical Success The target falls and lands prone and takes 1d6 bludgeoning damage.Success The target falls and lands prone. [Essentially the same as Starfinder]Critical Failure You lose your balance and fall and land prone.

Athletics Trained Actions

Disarm

AttackRequirements You have at least one hand free. The target can’t be more than one size larger than you.
You try to knock something out of an opponent’s grasp. Attempt an Athletics check against the opponent’s Reflex DC.

Critical Success You knock the item out of the opponent’s grasp. It falls to the ground in the opponent’s space. [On a success, Starfinder let you disarm the opponent and grab the item before it fell, otherwise its essentially the same, though the Pathfinder 2e Success is less than what Starfinder gave you.]Success You weaken your opponent’s grasp on the item. Until the start of that creature’s turn, attempts to Disarm the opponent of that item gain a +2 circumstance bonus, and the target takes a –2 circumstance penalty to attacks with the item or other checks requiring a firm grasp on the item.Critical Failure You lose your balance and become flat-footed until the start of your next turn.